Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus!

 "In the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth."  (Phil. 2:10)

I noticed today, especially -- probably because I was watching for it on this feast day -- how many heads were bobbing during the Mass and the sermon as Father talked about Jesus' holy Name. Did you just bow your head when you read that? It made my heart smile. I bowed my head with you, you know.

I'm so happy I'm not the only one who was taught as a child to bow my head at His dear Name, and I've taught my children to do so, as well.  There's nothing as sweet as a toddler bowing his/her head at the name of Jesus!  How it must please Heaven to see this little act of love in a world where not only is Jesus' name not revered, but it's commonly used as a negative epithet, a curse, or an exclamation of surprise. The name to which "every knee should bow" is tossed off so thoughtlessly.  Folks don't even give it a second thought.

It scares me when I see the most direct warnings God gave to man so well targeted by the devil; that loser (Satan and his ilk), has largely succeeded in the world at removing any stigma from the use of God's Name in vain, and in this age of ultra-mass media, these insults to God fly to all corners of the world at the speed of light.  You see it and hear it everywhere, but folks (if they think of it at all) think it's no big deal.  I've heard the explanation more than once, "I didn't mean it that way..."  Hmmm...   OK. So, then how did you mean it?  When you said, or texted, or posted in FB, "OMG,"  what did you mean?  Did you mean to imply to everyone reading or listening that you were beginning a prayer?  Were you praising His Name?  Were you asking something in His holy Name?  Were you not thinking anything at all? That's what most people say, that it's a habit, something they're not even thinking about when it comes out of their mouths.


But, well, uh...  Sorry.  "Not thinking anything at all" defines "in vain." Right?  Look it up.

Sorry to rant on this one. I know that when I write this here, I'm surely preaching to the choir, but I know that I'm not the only one who sees the abuse of God's Name and is very much bothered by it.  If it bothers you, too, y all means try to counteract the damage by immediately praying, "BLessed be His Name,"  "Or Jesus Christ, have mercy!" or something like that.  But also please spread the word in any way you can how important it is to keep reverence for the Name of God.  Keeping His Name holy is important enough to God for Him to place it #2 on His list of rules for mankind. I know that many out there in the big wide world may be thinking it's not a big deal, but, well...  I'm pretty doggone sure God thinks it is a big deal. Words -- and how we use them -- do mean things.

Instead of using His name as an exclamation, or curse, say:  Shazam!  Or Drat!  Or Dagnabbit!  Or Hossenpfeffer!  Be creative!  Start a trend!  But keep Jesus' Name (in all its forms!) sacred, please!

O almighty and eternal God Who hast created and redeemed us, grant that through the infusion of Thy grace in us we may rejoice to see our names written in heaven under the glorious name of Jesus.  Through Christ Our Lord.  Amen

Click and print for a nice coloring page for the day!

Our family has a devotion to the Holy Name of Jesus, and I've written about this wonderful and important feast many times.  For ways to celebrate, the feast that I've shared in the past, along with music, prayers, and art, you could click here...

Fisheaters, has a brief  write-up on this feast day,which includes a wonderful quote from St. Bernard of Clairvaux (who wrote the beautiful hymn, Jesu Dulci Memoria). 

And for a nice read on the subject, I don't know Br. Davenport, have not read his entire blog, and cannot tell you his "provenance," but I like very much what he writes about the Feast of the Holy Name.  Blessed be the Name of Jesus!